Mel and Tom turned the business around faster than expected. Within three years, they sold their life's work to their two managers, Josh and Dave.

Their accountant was sure it couldn't be done. He was happy to be wrong. If you had asked him, he would have told you he was skeptical when Mel first came back from the Profit Truth Seminar, talking about ROA, the proxy assets, Optimize-Automate-Accelerate, Find-Convert-Keep, WOW, and the Mendoza Line. It came across as slogans and gimmicks.

Then the numbers came in.

Inventory turns went up. Slow-moving SKUs got liquidated, freeing up much-needed cash. The team saved hours of busy work and started spending more time with customers — and customers noticed. The sales floor was transformed, making it fun and easy to shop but also more productive, yielding more sales per square foot than ever. Fifteen years of POS data were easily accessible, providing Mel and Tom with a clear picture of what was happening and what was trending.

The accountant noticed something else. The new Key Result- ROA (return on assets) was improving. The inventory, payroll, and rent were yielding better returns, increasing net profits. This was not a traditional approach used by accounts, but he could see how it provided a clear picture of how AI-enabled efficiency gains and profitability improvements impacted net profit. That, he understood. He'd just never had a name for it.

Mel told him, "ROI measures the transaction. ROA measures the transformation."

He wrote it down.

Josh and Dave didn't buy a turnaround story. They bought a system. A business that worked because the focus was narrow, customer-centric, and success was measured by profit, not volume. Every category, customer, and SKU contributed to profits.  Decisions got made in hours instead of weeks. And a culture where the team showed up on Monday knowing what mattered most that week, because the OKRs created clarity and alignment.

What surprised Mel and Tom most wasn't the speed. It was the simplicity.

They hadn't pivoted to a new business model. They hadn't doubled the staff. They hadn't chased the next shiny AI-thing. They had taken the assets they already owned — the inventory, the people, the real estate, the capital, and the data trapped in the POS system — and improved the return on those assets. Kind of like reallocating an investment portfolio or 401 (k).

More importantly, they did less and got more. As Mel would remind everyone, “less but better.”

And the profit didn't disappear. They put it to work.

They bought the building they'd been renting for fifteen years. Creating equity and rent became a revenue stream. They tore out the old cash wrap and rebuilt it around how the team actually moved. New displays. All ideas and designs from the team. Fewer SKUs, better merchandised, easier to shop. They invested in AI tools and systems that gave them insights they couldn’t see before and enabled them to access new data from their industry association.

Headcount stayed the same. Everyone made more.

Better salaries. Profit sharing. A real say in planning — because the people closest to the customer had the best ideas. And every team member owned a piece of the AI work. Not a side project. Part of the job.

Optimize. Automate. Accelerate. Top-down and bottom-up.

Clarity. Purpose. Simplicity.

Less but better. Every category made money. Every SKU made money. Every customer made money. Every employee made money. These are all the things Mel learned at the workshop.

What had started as all hands on deck — going under — had become a finely tuned machine.

The path was easier than Mel and Tom thought. Not because the work was easy. The work was hard. But the work was clear. And clarity — when you've spent thirty years guessing — feels like a miracle.

Mel ran into the accountant a year after the sale. He was now advising a handful of other clients. He told her he'd started asking them a different question.

Not "what's your forecast and what are your priorities."

But "what's your number one Key Result?”

She smiled. "That's the only question that matters."

This brings us back to where we began this story, Mel handing the keys to Josh and Dave, and then diving off into the sunset.

As they headed out of town on their first road trip as retirees, Tom thought about the journey. Tom was a skeptic by nature — always had been. It's part of why they made it. But he had to admit this was the best thing that had ever happened to them- less but better! Who’d have thought?!

"Well, Mel. We did it." A pause. "You did it. We went from owners of a wreck to stewards of a legacy. The dream you hatched back in college — remember? The house on 3rd Street. The living room was the paint department. Paper in the kitchen."

He shook his head.

"Damn. What a ride."

For Nora Faria, who inspired this small business fable.

The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are my own and do not constitute professional, legal, financial, or investment advice. This content is for informational and educational purposes only, and may contain AI-generated content. © 2026 Creativity Consulting Group Inc.